Stuck In My Kitchen - Recipes I've Tried Since Being Inside
By now, we’ve all probably gone through all of our quarantine snacks. Since being on lockdown, I’ve tried some new recipes and I wanted to share them with you!
French Toast Casserole
My absolute favorite meal of the day is breakfast. When it comes to the debate of french toast, pancakes, or waffles, french toast wins one thousand percent in my book. It’s hard to make a nice breakfast since you want it in the morning and no one wants to cook as soon as they wake up. Well, I found an amazing overnight french toast recipe and I need to share it with you.
Ingredients:
1 loaf of bread
I use Challah bread but Sourdough would work too, basically any bread that isn’t pre-sliced grocery store bread, something that can hold up to a lot of liquid.
8 eggs
2 cups of whole milk
1/2 cup of heavy cream
¾ cup of sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
½ cup of flour
½ cup of butter
½ cup of brown sugar
¼ tsp of salt
2 tbsp of vanilla
Step 1, grease your baking dish! We don’t want to get stuck on any of this delicious goodness.
Use a 9x13 inch dish, I prefer one that’s deep.
Step 2, cube the bread. One-ish inch cubes tossed randomly into the baking dish.
Step 3, in a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, and sugar.
It’s a lot of liquids so make sure you get a big bowl. Mix it together until its one smooth consistency.
Step 4, pour it over top of the bread cubes.
Try to pour it as evenly as possible.
Step 5, cover the baking dish with tin foil and let it sit in the fridge anywhere from 90 minutes to 6 hours, this is where the “overnight” part comes in.
Step 6, cube the butter.
Step 7, mix the flour, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar into the butter cubes until it makes a crumble. Let this sit in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
Now you’re all prepped. Just hang out until you’re ready to bake!
Preheat the oven to 350. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the bread cubes. Cover with tin foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove tin foil and continue to bake for 20 minutes.
I usually provide berries and/or chocolate chips when making this so my guests can customize it how they like. And don’t forget the whipped cream on top!
Original recipe fromm lilluna.com and modified to fit personal taste
BBQ Slow Cooker Pork
I’m a sucker for some good barbeque. But sometimes it can take forever. I recently started doing more with my slow cooker and let me tell you, it changed the game. I found a recipe for slow cooker bbq pork and decided to put my own twist on it!
Ingredients:
Pork tenderloin
They’re usually sold in packs of 2, make both
2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce
I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika
Garlic and onion powder to taste
Step 1, put pork in the slow cooker.
Step 2, mix BBQ sauce, mustard, salt, paprika, garlic, and onion powder in a big bowl.
Step 3, pour half the mixture over the pork.
Step 4, flip pork over and pour the other half.
Step 5, cook on low for 3-3.5 hours.
Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans for a delicious dinner everyone will love!
I recently just had the leftovers from this and let me just say, it’s even better left over!
Original recipe from spendwithpennies.com and modified to fit personal tastes
Pan Seared Steak and Potatoes
There’s nothing better than meat and potatoes and the best meat is a filet mignon. I’ve been making steak for years, but I think I finally cracked the code to my perfect steak, less is more.
Ingredients:
Filet Mignon
Any size
Salt and Pepper to taste
Grill Masters brand Steak and Brisket seasoning
Butter
Step 1, make slits in each side of the steak so the seasonings can penetrate
Step 2, salt and pepper each side
Step 3, season each side with the Grill Masters seasoning
Remember, less is more, you don’t want to only taste the seasoning!
Step 4, let seasonings sit for at least 30 minutes
Step 5, melt butter in the pan
I use a cast iron pan for even heat distribution and to get that ideal char.
Step 6, sear each side for 3 minutes
This gets it medium rare - add time for a more well done steak
Pro-Tip: Don’t move the steak once it’s in the pan, just let it sit where you put it and flip it when it’s ready.
For the potatoes:
Ingredients:
Potatoes
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Celery seed
Parsley
Step 1, dice the potatoes.
Step 2, drizzle olive oil on the potatoes.
Step 3, sprinkle salt, pepper, celery seed, and parsley to your liking.
Sept 4, put the potatoes in the oven until golden brown.
Together you’ll have a very simple, yet delicious, steak and potatoes dinner.
Original recipe - modified from trial and error
Parmesan Crusted Chicken
I love cheese. I’m basically a mouse with how much I love cheese. I also love fried chicken. So when I decided to combine the two, I ended up making something not only delicious, but that will definitely become a staple in my house going forward.
Ingredients:
Chicken breasts
As many as you need to feed your family
Panko bread crumbs
Italian bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
I prefer the more powdery kind, not the shredded but use what you have or what you like!
Italian seasonings
Eggs
Butter
Vegetable oil
Step 1, scramble up some eggs. Add some seasoning to the eggs.
Step 2, mix together the bread crumbs and cheese.
2 parts cheese, 1 part italian bread crumbs, 1 part panko bread crumbs
Step 3, add some seasoning to the bread crumb mix.
Step 4, coat chicken in egg wash, then bread crumbs, TWICE
Step 5, melt 1 part butter and 1 part vegetable oil in a frying pan
Step 6, fry chicken for about 3-4 minutes per side or until fully cooked
Step 7, sprinkle some salt on top when removed from fryer
Simple, quick, easy. Cheesy and delicious chicken that doesn’t leave you feeling greasy and gross!
Original recipe from cincyshopper.com and modified to fit personal taste
Chocolate Lasagna
Chocolate lovers rejoice! It’s finally our time in the blog post. If you like cake, pudding, or cheesecake, this dessert is an absolute must try. It’s kind of like a “dirt cup” but so much better!
Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix
Prepare according to directions
1 box instant pudding mix
1 block cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1 container Cool Whip
1 cup chocolate chips
Step 1, prepare box cake mix according to directions. Bake for a few minutes longer than recommended
You want to bake it longer so it’s a little bit dry, not sand but easy to crumble
Step 2, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and ½ of the Cool Whip in a bowl until smooth
Step 3, prepare the pudding according to the box
Step 4, once the cake is cooled, crumble the cake and then pack it into the lightly greased baking dish
Step 5, spread the cream cheese mixture over the cake
Be careful as to not pull the cake up out of the dish
Step 6, Spread the pudding on top of the cream cheese
Step 7, top the pudding with the rest of the Cool Whip
Step 8, top with chocolate chips
It’s a little time consuming, since we’re baking a cake, but it’s a fun twist on a childhood favorite!
Original recipe I discovered by accidently messing up a cake